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Monthly Archives: September 2015

Happy Wednesday folks, a very quick one from me today – I finished the last of my ’91 Marauder tech gangers with modern AdMech arms & weapons. These guys are going to be part of the Agentia Scrutator salvage squad I mentioned in my last post, and they are also the last of the ‘half-finished projects’ from my pile! Yey! My decks are clear! Here they are as a pair, and then the whole group together:

So, clear decks… Hmmm… what to do next? Well, I have been accumulating a considerable pile of RT-esque non-coms that I am itching to get stuck into, plus I have an idea for a couple of robotic conversions with a strong 80’s theme… But before that, I have been inspired by the ‘Rogue Quest’ project that Asslessman and Axiom are working on at the moment – the project is to build a six-strong adventuring party that is suitable for Rogue Trader, but that draws on six of the classic dungeon crawler tropes:

Barbarian

Bard

Cleric

Fighter

Magic user

Paladin

Ranger

Rogue

I Hope you don’t mind me jumping on your band wagon dudes, it’s just such a good idea! This will mean a good trawl through my lead pile and looking at minis in a different way… I’m excited already!

Happy Friday folks, just a quick post from me today – I’ve been really slow on the painting front for the last week… No particular reason, just not really been feeling the mojo if you know what I mean? I did manage to finish these two chaps off though – they are two of the original ’91 Marauder tech gangers with modern AdMech arms & weapons. These guys are going to be part of the Agentia Scrutator salvage squad I started back in July, (blogged about here), and are part of my mission to tick off all my part-finished projects. Trouble is, I kind of loose enthusiasm for these lingering types, which is probably why it has taken me a while to get around to finishing these two… Anyhow, here they are as a pair and with the other members of the salvage squad:

I have two more salvage agents built and ready to paint, and then my desk will be completely clear!! I’m looking forward to having a bit of space – I have a few fun projects in mind, including a whole bunch of non-comms and some kick-ass robots… watch this space!

Happy Thursday folks –I’m a bit late getting this out, (life has been on overdrive lately!), but last Wednesday I had a cracking little game of Rogue Trader with my Lead-Brother Ross. The game pitted elements of his growing Inquisitorial warband against my new Rogue Trader, who had brought along some hired thugs. The mission was a ‘simple’ archeotech retrieval job, but it all got messy when a nest of Frumious Bandersnatch got disturbed in the hunt… Here’s a short attempt to relay the tale in a narrative stylee, followed by a couple of pics. (Yes… I said stylee… deal with it 😉

Hope you enjoy!

Arturo carefully scanned the area ahead. He could see the shaft entrance, and knew that this was the spot where the xenotech was allegedly hidden. He had been hired to retrieve an alien artifact, and paid a very generous retaining fee by a collector that he had met on an outer-rim archaeological site. Trouble was that he knew that he was not the only interested party… He had heard rumours of an Inquisitor poking around for information about the treasure, and he doubted that he had been able to buy the silence of the hive gang who had provided him with his own information. Arturo didn’t really know what the protocol was when dealing with the other Imperial agencies, but as far as he was concerned, his Rogue Trader warrant gave him complete authority out here in the galactic fringe world of Jarman’s Folly… No doubt, the Inquisitor felt the same, and it always paid to be cautious. With that thought in mind, he ordered a small group of gangers forward towards the shaft. They were a rabble that he had been able to hire as guides for a few credits, and the three of them were eminently disposable. Arturo had also hired a more seasoned fighter – a bounty hunter who went under the name ‘8-Ball’… He wore a ridiculous environmental suit, but he did come highly recommended as a guy who ‘got shit done’… Arturo used the comm link to instruct him to climb to a gantry and get a better view of the shaft entrance.

The comm clicked as soon as the bounty hunter reached his position “boss, multiple parties closing in from the east… they’re tooled up, unfriendly lookin’, and they’re heading for the shaft… I have a shot boss, what’s your call?” Arturo didn’t hesitate. “Take the shot 8-Ball” he replied, and the hum of gravetic drives became audible as the mercenary fired up his shuriken catapult. At the same time, Arturo stepped from behind a rusted storage tank, servos whining as his ancient power armour responded to his movements. He threw a blind grenade towards an ancient plascrete column that stood opposite the shaft entrance, and watched as the three gangers gratefully took cover within the cloud. A burst of fire rang out from the east, and he turned in time to see 8-Ball drop to the ground, his power field flashing as it overloaded under the weight of fire. “Shit…” Arturo muttered to himself – he had lost the element of surprise, and with 8-Ball out of action, he was effectively blind. He could hear the unmistakable sound of hand to hand fighting coming from the shaft entrance, but couldn’t see much through the smoke screen that his blind grenade had created. The fighting didn’t sound pleasant – a high pitched chittering merged discordantly with a deep, animalistic bellow… The young Rogue Trader had a hunch that this situation was likely to get close and personal – he sent a mental instruction to his armour, and a small servo arm rotated at the back of the suit, presenting his power sword’s grip over his right shoulder. Reaching back, he grasped the weapon, and thumbed the activation rune as he swung the blade through a few practice arcs. The power sword was a beautiful piece of technology – perfectly balanced and keen, it was a relic that had been handed down through the family for generations. More importantly, it was the last gift his father had given him before he left his homeworld for a life among the stars, and the historical weight of the heirloom immediately strengthened his resolve. Arturo began to stride forward, his armoured tread crunching through the detritus of the underhive as he marched purposefully towards the shaft entrance.

Ahead, the smoke screen began to disperse, and he saw a clutch of insectoid creatures burst from the shaft entrance to leap at the gangers who were cowering in the thinning cloud surrounding the column. One of the thugs was torn apart in a spray of blood as two of the creatures ripped into him. Arturo didn’t even break his stride as he stepped over the corps and butchered the pair with powerful sweeps of his blade. Shots rang out again as the smoke continued to clear, and he realised that he had a group of enemy gunmen ahead, and another pair on a gantry to his right. He swung his shuriken catapult around and fired left-handed on the group to the on the gantry, watching with satisfaction as a malformed gunman crumpled to the ground. Arturo stepped back and tried to put the column between himself and the group to the east, while he swung his blade at the remaining creatures. Another one fell to his sword, but a second ganger had also fallen. Shots hammered into the melee as the remaining gunmen fired indiscriminately into the whirling combat, and one shot managed to find a weak point in his armour. He felt a sharp burning pain in his thigh before the suit’s automatic analgesic dispensers could kick in. The last ganger fell, but the creature that was tearing into him was distracted enough to allow Arturo to dispatch it with a clean decapitating sweep of his sword.

A brief lull allowed the young Rogue Trader to take stock of his situation. He still had a pair of gunmen to contend with to the east, and a lone assailant on the gantry to the south. He also saw a giant brute of a mutant engaged in melee with a pair of the insectoid creatures near to the shaft entrance – the mutant was bleeding from a dozen minor wounds, while the crumpled bodies of several other insectoids littered the ground, giving evidence of the brutality of the struggle. Amidst all of the chaos, Arturo’s attention was drawn to a figure emerging from the shaft entrance itself. Clad in archaic power armour and carrying a well maintained Bolter, the figure exuded confidence and authority. The armour was unadorned and portrayed an understated efficiency, while the open helmet reviled a gaunt and haughty face – a single bionic eye glowing balefully in the gloom. This must be the Inquisitor that Arturo had heard about, and in his left hand he held a glowing cube that could only be the xenotech that the Rogue Trader sought.

Arturo’s attention was drawn back to the east as further shots rang out – razor-sharp flakes of plascrete flew off the column as munitions hammered all around his position. He snapped his shuriken catapult to the mag strip on his left thigh, and gritted his teeth as he drew his archaic plasma pistol. “Time to even the odds” he growled to himself as he stepped into the open. The pistol kicked and howled in fury as balls of white-hot plasma spewed out and incinerated the gunmen to his front. A bolt round glanced off his left shoulder as the Inquisitor snapped off a shot, while laser fire stabbed down from the gantry to his right. Arturo didn’t hesitate – he turned and charged at the Inquisitor, sword held low. The Inquisitor was hopelessly outmatched – he was surprisingly agile in his armour and avoided many of Arturo’s blows, but he was poorly equipped for hand to hand combat. He fended Arturo off as best he could with knife and fist, but the reach of his sword was telling and Arturo slowly drove the Inquisitor back. Eventually the Rogue Trader forced an opening, and sliced his blade across the chest plate of the unknown Inquisitor. The field harmonics of the blade allowed it to slice through ceramite plate, cut deep into the cabling and hydraulics beneath, and on into flesh. The Inquisitor fell, blood and oil seeping from his torn armour, his suit whining in protest as it lost power. Arturo was about to make sure the man was dead, when a huge weight barrelled into him. The giant mutant had managed to kill the last of the insectoid creatures that had been swarming it, and was now determinedly trying to crush Arturo in a bear hug. Arturo sighed inwardly, and drove an elbow into the beast’s abdomen, breaking its grip and creating enough space for Arturo to swing his blade. He launched a flurry of blows, driving the mutant back further before calmly snapping off a shot with his plasma pistol and dropping the creature in its tracks. Arturo turned back towards where the Inquisitor had fallen, and saw the lone gunman from the gantry had left his perch, and was stooped over the prone form of the Inquisitor as he attempted to prise the gem from his grip. The gunman barely had time to glance up before Arturo had closed the gap and dispatched him a crushing kick to the head.

Silence fell over the area, and Arturo gazed around at the devastation. Piles of bodies were scattered around the small clearing, some contorted in death, some twitching and moaning where they lay, and others still burning where they had been hit with plasma. He glanced up to where 8-Ball had fallen and was unsurprised to see that the body was no longer there – Arturo didn’t know whether the bounty hunter had survived and escaped, or whether he had simply crawled off somewhere quiet to die… He didn’t much care either way, but he saw that the gangers that he had hired were clearly very dead indeed. He turned to look down at the Inquisitor at his feet. The old man was still alive – locked motionless in his now deactivated suit, but he was glaring at Arturo – his one organic eye blazing with rage. “Oh, you’re for it now… you’re so fragged, and you don’t even know it. Do you know who I am? What I am? I’m Inquisitor Emeric… I’m on the Emperor’s holy business! Throne’s sake, you just messed with the wrong guy…” he gasped, blood bubbling from his lips. Arturo gazed down… “Tell me, honoured Inquisitor… What is it that you want with this?” Arturo asked as he stowed his pistol and bent down to remove xenotech cube from the Inquisitor’s frozen grip. “I’ll tell you nothing, you whoreson whelp!” the Inquisitor spat. Arturo straightened, and looked at the gem closely. The cube appeared to be made of a gently glowing green crystal, the faces etched with unfamiliar symbols. There was something hypnotic about the lambent green glow, and Arturo had to forcibly drag his attention back to the present. He deactivated his power sword, and placed the tip of the now inert blade below the Inquisitors good eye… “Listen old boy, I came a long way for this gem – I have a sanctioned Imperial warrant to trade in this sector, and it is mine by right… You don’t have any jurisdiction over me, and the way I see it? Well… I can do whatever I wish with you… Now, be a good gent, and tell me why the gem is important to you before I do something you’ll regret.” The glossy black faceplate of the Rogue Trader’s helmet gazed impassively down, reflecting the contorted features of the Inquisitor. The two figures remained frozen for a moment before the distant wail of sirens cut through the underhive gloom.

Arturo straightened – he didn’t want to get involved with the local Arbites if he could help it – despite his assertions, he still wasn’t entirely sure where he stood… true, his Trader warrant granted him complete autonomy and the authority to do as he wished out here in the fringes of Imperial space, but then the Inquisition could probably boast a similar claim. Ultimately, questions of who was right and who was wrong may end up in a bureaucratic quagmire, and he had no intention of hanging around to wait for that kind of process to play out. Arturo briefly considered killing this ‘Emeric’ where he lay, but came to the conclusion that murdering an Inquisitor in cold blood might be a singularly bad idea. He looked down at the Inquisitor, “Well, old chap… I’d love to stop and chat, but that sounds like my cue to leave. I guess it’s your lucky day!” With a quick flick of his blade he left a shallow cut below the Inquisitors eye as he turned and began tramping back towards the space port. He slung his sword over his shoulder, and the suit’s retaining arm gripped the hilt before stowing the blade at the small of Arturo’s back. The Inquisitor screamed out in rage “You should’ve killed me boy! You should’ve finished it! I’ll find you… I’ll find you! You’ll beg me to kill you before the end! You hear me? You’re a dead man!”

Arturo paid him no mind as he strode into the gloom of the underhive, clutching his prize, and wondering what the Inquisition might want with the gem… The Inquisition didn’t generally waste their time on trivial things, so the cube was clearly more than a mere bauble. Arturo suspected that it was far more valuable than the retaining fee he had been paid, and he wasn’t at all certain that he wanted to hand it over to the collector who had hired him. Instead, Arturo was beginning to consider where he might find a xenotech expert who would be able to interpret the symbols for him – maybe if he could learn more about the cube then he could negotiate a better price for it… He had plenty to think about, but the important thing right now was to get to his ship and put some distance between himself and Jarman’s Folly… and Inquisitor Emeric of course.

I hope you enjoyed that read folks – Ross and I certainly had good fun playing the game! It definitely sets the scene for future encounters between these two adversaries:-)

Anyhow, here are some photos:

Arturo and ganger guides on the approach

…while 8-Ball moves to take the high ground

The Frumious Bandersnatch infested shaft entrance

Emeric & co approach the shaft – giant mutant to the fore

Inquisitorial henchmen on the ground

More henchmen poised to climb on to the gantry

The Minotaur gets mobbed by one bunch of bugs

And the gangers get mobbed by another

Arturo wades in and kicks bug ass, but is too late to save the gangers

Arturo guns down the two henchmen to his front

Inquisitor Emeric appears from the shaft, clutching the xenotech

Arturo charges the Inquisitor

Emeric is down, but the Minotaur finally kills the last bug and joins the fight

Arturo drops the beast with plasma fire

Just in time to catch the sneaky Ventolin trying to snatch the xenotech

Smack-down!

Arturo is the last man standing – time to grab the loot and split before the rozzers turn up!

Happy Wednesday folks, sorry it has been a while since I last posted – it has been a hectic couple of weeks! The big news is that I finally finished my Rogue Trader conversion, so yey! He’s based on the LE10 Power Armoured Trooper, and was one of the most complicated and detailed conversions I have attempted… more on that here & here. From a painting perspective, I was really inspired by the Inquisitor pictured in the Book of the Astronomican, and I tried to capture some of that vibe. My chap got white undercoat, and then the bulk of his power armour was coloured with yellow and brown inks, before I went to town on the freehand… I was right at my painting limits at this point! Then it was time to pick out the ridiculous amount pipes, cables, equipment and souvenirs that are festooned around his armour. The helmet face plate was glossed black, and after a few iterations I settled on a flaming red for his crest. A final round of tweaking and weathering was applied to bring him to this point:

And here’s the fluff:

At 42 years old, (standard Terran), Arturo Lamina is relatively callow for a Rogue Trader. He grew up on Feston III, a second cousin within the privileged Familia di Lamina – the hereditary ruling family within the sector. Traditionally, members of the Familia work their way through numerous positions within the administrative and military hierarchies of the sector, developing their political, martial and leadership skills as they progress… Arturo showed little inclination for such a life.

Wayward and rebellious as a youth, he was seconded into many roles within the administration, but his wilful disregard for tradition and propriety led to several embarrassing incidents. Eventually, he was posted as an officer within the PDF in the hope that this would ‘straighten him out’, but this plan backfired. Instead, Arturo used his rank and system-wide access to facilitate a profitable archeotech smuggling and drug running enterprise. This endeavour eventually came to the notice of the authorities, and the Familia were forced to intervene in order to prevent a scandal. By rights, Arturo should have been tried and sentenced to life a penal colony, but the Familia were able to use their influence and wealth to avoid a trial. They managed to secure Arturo a Rogue Trader Warrant, (through exorbitant bribery, blackmail and politicking), thus exploiting a legal loophole which allowed him to depart Feston III with his liberty. Of course, an abuses of power of this magnitude is impossible to completely hide, and such nepotism is fuel to the fires of opposition on Feston III, so the Famila had no choice but to excommunicate Arturo. He was gifted a small interstellar craft, along with some traditional weapons and heirlooms, and was duly ejected from the Familia to begin his new life – a situation which suits his wild and reckless temperament very well.

We join Arturo at the start of this journey, as he drafts forces to his service and begins to explore his new, (and greatly expanded), boundaries. There are many pitfalls to negotiate as he struggles to adapt to his new calling, for the path to success as a Rogue Trader is perilous indeed…

So, there we have it! I hope you like how he turned out – I’m pretty chuffed with him from a technical perspective, and I’m glad to get him finished… and not a moment too soon! He’s going into his first action this evening, against Inquisitor Emeric & Co… wish me luck!

Hi folks, quick photo dump today – I finished my Rogue Trader build last night, and I’ve had a forced redesign on the sword following an ‘incident’ that involved a 3 foot nose dive onto a solid oak floor. The original sword was a write-off – fiddly resin bits all over the place, completely un-repairable. Amazingly, I didn’t even swear, and at least the legs stayed on…

Anyway, once I had recovered, I had a good rummage in the bits pile and knocked up with a cool samurai-esqu AdMech alternative which I quite like. I was a bit stuck on how to attach it, but ended up experimenting with a little mechanical grabber thingy that holds the sword out of the way at the back, but pivots up for the Trader to grab when needed. It’s a bit of a novel approach, but I think it looks quite cool and gives the model a good silhouette… I don’t know if the photos do it justice, but hopefully you get the idea? As an added bonus, the sword is detachable for painting & storing 🙂

I also added a few other bits and bobs – a scanner, some relics, more grenades, a roll of parchment – (no doubt his Trader licence), and a purity seal. Phew! He’s all tooled up and ready for anything! Now, just a bit more GS to smooth out the joints and it’s time to get painting!

Happy Tuesday folks! It’s been a hectic bank holiday weekend, and my painting mojo has been a bit lacking since finishing Tick-Tock. Instead, I have been working off and on to put together a Rogue Trader – possibly my most ambitious miniature conversion to date! I knew that a) I wanted to use a classic Oldhammer model as the base, and b) I wanted him to be in Power Armour (as per the description of a Rogue Trader in Rogue Trader). I also wanted him to be well tooled up, and wanted to try and capture some of the freedom of expression we see in the Inq28 community. I basically wanted a little bit of everything I love about the hobby encapsulated in one model… no pressure!

It would’ve been much easier to start with a modern PA model as the base, but I’m stubborn when chasing a vision. So… the first thing to decide was a solid Oldhammer base for the conversion. Rogue Traders are famously independent and even flamboyant, so I knew that I wanted an unusual suit of armour to start with. After some musing, I decided on the LE10 Power Armoured Trooper by Bob Naismith from (I think) 1986. I absolutely love this suit, it’s gloriously bonkers and the perfect starting point for a Rogue Trader in my humble opinion… In fact, it’s so cool that I hear it was the inspiration for the newish Forgeworld Mechanicum Thallax! (Thanks Paul!)… The only problem with the sculpt is the teeny little ‘Kermit the Frog’ legs…

See what I mean? Teeny! As much as I hate the thought of chopping up a classic model, they just had to go…

So, after much soul searching I took the plunge and booked my LE10 in for surgery. A pair of Mk8 Marine legs (from the original ‘Errant’ sculpt, 1991?) were sourced & dry fitted. I had to really bulk out the thighs & knees with GS to make it look ‘right’, and my undeveloped sculpting skills were sorely tested! After much head scratching and faffing around, I arrived at this point:

Once I was happy with the proportions, I spent some time stripping the paint off the legs… (yeah… really wish I had done that first JB!), and filing the GS as smooth as possible. I also started adding bits and bobs to the model – some Imperial iconography, grenades, and a badass sword. I also found space for a cool space feather, (no doubt some valuable and exotic trophy), and a funky plume (a nod to the picture of Rogue Trader ‘Jeff Zuckerman’ in the book of the Astronomican). I also added a 32mm base. So here he is at the moment – still some way to go, but hopefully you get the idea:

Well, that’s it for now. I hope you chaps & chapesses like the direction this guy is going – the project has certainly got me excited! I’ll be working more detail onto him over the week, as well as continuing through my ‘in progress’ painting pile. Hopefully I’ll have some updates for you fairly soon 😉